SoupDoctor

I wrote about my first hobby shop here. Steven Brown Scale Model Soup

Bingo. Once we accept the fact that any single convention will be accessible to just a small part of the membership, we can set our expectations accordingly. There’s no need for a west coast convention to as profitable or more profitable than an east coast convention. IMHO, the only expectation should be that it be profitable. Now, what constitutes a “profit” is another conversation that we can discuss over a 3-5 page thread. LOL I don’t know. My gut tells me the convention should be periodically made available to all the members. Steve

We in the hobby talk a lot about the aging of modelers and the impact on IPMS and the larger hobby, so it would be nice to have some data to watch any trends. Let's start collecting age as soon as possible. Steve

What is the average age of IPMS/USA membership? (Not directed to James, rather someone on the e-board who can definitively answer.)

If this is the biggest challenge facing the Nats, and I believe Ron is right, may I suggest that one of the goals of the new e-board be to explore alternatives to the typical hotel/convention center venue that we’ve used for the last 30-40 years. This is the "paradigm" shift that Ron mentioned. What is our plan as we face these increasing costs? Is the leadership and membership okay with the possibility of one day not having a national convention? Better yet, are we ready to brainstorm alternatives? We’ll be quick to identify the challenges that come with any alternative, but are we open-minded to find ways to overcome those challenges? I think this will be a crucial issue facing the new or a near-term e-board. It's time for a plan. Steve

Agreed. (Emphasis above is mine.) It would be interesting if a member of the NCC reached out DIRECTLY to the presidents of IPMS chapters around the country who run successful, annual contests to find out if they’ve ever considered hosting the Nats. Some would politely say, “No thank you,” because they’re not interested, but others might say, “We’d like to but don’t have the resources.” That’s a huge opportunity and that is where the NCC should make an effort to help. I think of Mosquitocon here in my neck of the woods. (And I’m not a member, so this comment is purely theoretical.) IPMS New Jersey's annual contest is very strong, and I think they’d be well positioned to run the Nats. However, I can imagine them saying that finding an affordable venue in the area is a challenge. What then could IPMS do to help the club? At the moment, not much, because we don’t think beyond the norm, but there could be creative ways to host the Nats in a region that most dismiss as too expensive. Steve

Business (and the Nats is a business) is largely about relationships, so if I were in a National leadership position I’d take the losing bidders out to dinner and have a sincere conversation about the bids and, assuming they had a strong bid, encourage them to not give up, to bid again in the future. There’s no reason for anyone to walk away from the process with a “bad taste in their mouths” as long as the bidding process is honest and the communication is open. Then, in a couple of years, I’d reach out to them and ask if they’d be interested in putting another bid together and offer the organization’s help to make it a success. In fairness to those in leadership positions today and in the past, maybe this has been done. I’m speaking only from a place of what my tendency would be. Steven Brown IPMS #48592

Gil makes some good points that I'd like to build on. Finding an affordable venue is a major roadblock to hosting a convention, but I wonder if we’re too narrow in our vision? Has anyone explored creative alternatives? Consider…. Does the convention have to be held in a traditional hotel/convention center? I don’t think so. Sure, the convenience is great, but can we consider alternative venues, such as a university? Many have large facilities that could accommodate our needs, and given that the Nats is held in the summer, demand and prices may be lower. What about accomodations? Well, I can go onto any number of the big travel web sites such as Travelocity and quickly find a dozen hotels in practically any city and at rates that are much more affordable than what we typically see for the Nats, like $75-100 rather than $150. That might make the trip more affordable for some members. We’d still have to discuss how to handle the banquet and awards presentation, but creative thinking could allow us to bring the Nats to new locations. Steven Brown IPMS #48592

I’d like to quickly clarify a common misconception. A non-profit organization is permitted to make a profit. The key distinction between a non-profit and other types of organizations is that a non-profit’s earnings are not permitted to be given to board members, shareholder, or individuals. In addition, those profits are generally not taxed in the same way as corporate profits are. Many non-profits generate a great deal of revenue and profit and save it for future use...as IPMS does. Steven Brown IPMS #48592

When the location of the IPMS Nats has been announced over the last few years we hear from our west coast members expressing their disappointment that it will not be held in their neck of the woods. I’d like to dig a little deeper than the typical rant-based discussions in an effort to better understand the situation out there. If I counted correctly there are 29 chapters among Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California. If you’re a member of any of those chapters, I’d be curious to hear if there’s a desire among your club's members to host the convention yourself, or more to the point, if there’s been any actual effort to explore the possibility. For example, maybe the subject has been discussed in prior years but your club membership is too small or simply doesn't want to put in the work to host the convention. And that’s a fair response. It *is* a lot of work, and I can understand that work/family obligations might not permit the time required. Or, maybe your club is willing to put in the work but after contacting local venues you determined that a convention wouldn’t be financially viable. And that, too, is fair. No judgements here. But those two scenarios are very different problems. I mention this because understanding these and other challenges would allow us to brainstorm ideas and explore the possibility of hosting a west coast convention. I’ve heard a lot of anecdotes about expenses, etc., but I’m interested in hearing from those of you with “boots on the ground” in those 29 chapters to hear the specific challenges you’ve discussed or faced. Thanks in advance. Steven Brown #48592

Here are my favorites from the Nats. What were yours? http://www.scalemodelsoup.com/2013/08/my-2013-nats-favorites.html Steven Brown Scale Model Soup

Outstanding! We appreciate the time you've put into that. Steven Brown Scale Model Soup

Thanks, Gil. I'll be sure to sniff you out.

If you haven't been following Scale Model Soup over the last week, check out my articles about the IPMS Nats. Watch for updates during the Nats, and via my Facebook page as well. And see you there! Steven Brown